Newtown Literary contributor: Allison Escoto

Writer Allison Escoto’s piece was featured in issue #8 of Newtown Literary. We interviewed her about her writing, and her answers are below. You can check out more of her writing at After So Long Girl.

What is your relationship to Queens?

In September of 2001, I moved from Manhattan to Astoria and spent the ensuing six years living in both Astoria and Jackson Heights. I worked for Queens Library as a librarian in Jamaica for three years before moving out east to Suffolk County. In the fall of 2014, I found myself backmeandgreta in Astoria and back working for Queens Library in Corona. Whenever I hear anything bad about Queens or anyone dissing the borough as a drive through, it sticks in my craw. I think Queens is the best borough in NYC, hands down. There is no other place like it.

What is your favorite memory of Queens?

I have so many! But one of my favorite memories is pretty recent. I was walking to work one morning and made the seemingly unpopular decision to not have earbuds in. Doing this in any given neighborhood in Queens is a veritable gold mine for a writer; there is so much to hear. What was really remarkable and very “Queens” was that I started counting the different languages I heard and I counted six! Six unique languages in a four mile radius… you just can’t get that anywhere else.

How would you describe the writing you do?

When I first started really writing, I was at that stage in life when you are falling in love with everyone and everything that crosses your path, you know? Everything that happened felt like it merited some kind of memorial. Poetry was the only way I could even begin to tackle all that. So I write about love a lot. I’ve never found it difficult to unearth the machinations in the everyday, mundane events of life so I write about those a lot, too. My first love is poetry and it is usually what I default to. There have been so many times when I sit down to write something completely different and it turns into a poem. It’s such a challenge to say a lot with a few words and I try to pose that challenge to myself each time I sit down to write. I’m also really comfortable writing personal essays and blogs. I’m a shy person in a big city and for many years, blogging was a way for me to connect with people.

How did you come to writing?

I’ve been a voracious reader since I was little and that’s how I really learned to communicate with the world. I grew up in the deep south and as the one of two brown kids in my school I was always pretty quiet and kept to myself. But I found kinship in books and poetry. I started writing poetry in grade school and kept up with it throughout high school. By the time I got to undergrad and had to choose a major, I knew there was nothing else I could see myself happy doing. For as long as I can remember, I’ve kept a diary and when online blogging became a thing, I took to it immediately.

What inspires you?

My job. I work with the general public. Do I need to elaborate on what about that would inspire a writer? Just ask anyone who has ever had to work with the public. I’m also inspired by other writers. So many times, after I finish a good book or watch a really well written show or attend a poetry reading, I go home and I write.

What does it mean to be a writer in Queens?

Being a writer in Queens, as I’m learning all the time, means you have a built in community. I was so excited to learn about Newtown Literary, the classes that happen at the Astoria Bookshop, the local writers who bring other writers together. I always kind of feel that Queens is the scrappy kid sister of the boroughs and when I meet other creative people from here, I feel an instant kinship. Plus, there is always a possibility for inspiration just by walking through any given neighborhood. There are so many stories here.

What writing project(s) are you currently working on?

Ever since I became a librarian 13 long years ago, all I hear from coworkers, library patrons, and pretty much everyone else has said, “You could write a book about your job.” So that’s what I’m doing. I’m writing a satirical novel about a library.

And, finally, my favorite question: What should I be asking you that I didn’t?

“Who is your favorite poet?”

I’m constantly reading new poetry (or new to me, anyway) and so the answer changes often. It seems unfair to narrow something like this down but the poetry that resonates through my brain and my heart, no matter how many times I read it is the work of Frank O’Hara. I first read him when I was in my early 20s and now that I’m 40, it still means something to me. He’s the one constant.